Genetic and physical analyses of Caulobacter rescentus trp genes

M. E. Winkler, P. V. Schoenlein, C. M. Ross, J. T. Barrett, B. Ely

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5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Caulobacter crescentus trp mutants were identified from a collection of auxotrophs. Precursor feeding experiments, accumulation studies, and complementation experiments resulted in the identification of six genes corresponding to trpA, trpB, trpC, trpD, trpE, and trpF. Genetic mapping experiments demonstrated that the trp genes were in two clusters, trpCDE and trpFBA, and a 5.4-kilobase restriction fragment from the C. crescentus chromosome was isolated that contained the trpFBA gene cluster. Complementation experiments with clones containing the 5.4-kilobase fragment indicated that trpF was expressed in Escherichia coli and that all three genes were expressed in Pseudomonas putida. This expression was lost in both organisms when the pBR322 tet gene promoter was inactivated, indicating that all three genes were transcribed in the same orientation from the tet promoter. Thus, the C. crescentus promoters do not seem to be expressed in E. coli or P. putida. Complementation of the C. crescentus trp mutants indicated that the tet promoter was not necessary for expression in C. crescentus and suggested that at least two native promoters were present for expression of the trpF, trpB, and trpA gene. Taken together, these results indicate that C. crescentus promoters may have structures that are significantly different from the promoters of other gram-negative species.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)279-287
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Bacteriology
Volume160
Issue number1
StatePublished - 1984
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology

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